The #PressForward Podcast

Today on the #PressForward podcast we’re speaking with Bridget Willard.

She’s been working with WordPress for many years and specialises in helping companies with their social media channels. She’s got an international client base and posts helpful content about how you or your company can leverage social media. Bridget also has a podcast over at WPblab which is worth checking out!

Today we cover a lot of ground. We talk about her relationship with social media, how it’s presence is being felt more and more in our lives and how we can manage this. We get into the idea that social media is a valid replacement for so many older forms of communication.

We also discuss the loss of Bridget’s husband a few years ago. How she’s coped and what she did to get through this difficult time. This led us into a chat about her journey with depression and anxiety.

So this is a trigger warning that we will be talking about depression and anxiety during this podcast.

Bridget is an energetic and enthusiastic guest and it’s a fun episode to listen to…

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we’re speaking with Michelle Frechette.

She’s been working with WordPress for many years and is currently working for GiveWP as their head of customer success.

Her story today is divided into roughly 4 sections.

First we talk about her WordPress journey, how she got involved with the community in the deep way that she has.

We then move on to speak about her encounters with depression over the years, how it has impacted her life and what form it takes.

Next Michelle tells us about Fibromyalgia… a painful condition which has a profound effect upon how much she can do each and every day.

We end with an uplifting chat about her fabulous initiatives to bring more kindness into the world.

It’s a really broad and deep discussion about so many different subjects. I loved chatting with Michelle, and I hope that you like listening.

As I mentioned we do cover the topics of depression and anxiety and so this is a trigger warning if these subjects impact upon you.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re speaking with Cathy Tibbles

She’s been working with WordPress for many years and founded an agency – WP Barista.

She’s come on the podcast today to tell us about the journey that she’s had creating and maintaining her website building business.

It’s quite a personal story as we mix family and business, separation and struggle along the way. You see, Cathy had a period where things were not working out so well. Her WordPress business needed to move from being a fun thing to do to raise some extra cash to a way of funding the whole family, and this transition needed to happen very quickly indeed.

We learn about the steps that Cathy took to achieve this… what she thinks she did well, and other things that she feels were less effective. Overwork, hiring staff, worry, and a happy ending, it’s all here.

So have a listen to the podcast and get in touch to tell us what you think.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So, today we’re speaking with Puneet Sahalot. He’s a WordPress developer heading up the IdeaBox team in India. You might have heard of some of the plugins that they’ve created, things like PowerPack for Beaver Builder and WP Fomify. We talk about what the tech scene is like in India and how it differs from other parts of the world. We also spend quite a lot of the conversation talking about Puneet’s approach to growing and maintaining his team; how he likes to treat them like a family and encourage them to grow and develop in their roles. We also get into the subject of mental and physical health and the way that these areas are becoming more important in the workplace. It’s a lovely interview with a very humble man… Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley. We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out. And remember… Together we can #PressForward Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So today on the #PressForward podcast we’re speaking with Jan Koch.

Jan has been working with WordPress for many years, developing solutions for clients. More recently he’s been creating WordPress related summits, and they’ve been very well received.

Our podcast today covers a range of subjects, but focuses on a period in Jan’s life which saw him taking on too many things. He decided to take on a masters course concerning internet security and although he thought that this would be of interest, the main driver was financial. Jan was hoping that having this qualification would enable him to secure a good salary, but as we find out, the course did not live up to his expectations. The content was hard to learn and wasn’t really something that he enjoyed. The pressure mounted and Jan had a nervous breakdown.

We talk about how Jan got into this position, and what actually happened on that day. How his family were able to offer support and help in this time of great need.

We also discuss the aftermath of the breakdown… how life is now and how it forced Jan to re-evaluate his priorities.

Towards the end we hear about how Jan is doing right now, how he’s continually tweaking his life so as to ensure that they things and people that matter most get the time and attention that they deserve.

This is a trigger warning that during this episode, we talk about nervous breakdowns, depression and anxiety.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we hear from Tim Nash.

Tim works for 34SP, a hosting company based in the UK. Over the years Tim has been incredibly active in the WordPress community. He’s been involved in multiple ways online but has also been a regular attendee at WordCamps.

The podcast today focuses upon an episode in Tim’s life which occurred in 2017. He had a panic attack which changed his life considerably in the space of just a few minutes. He wrote an article about it entitled “I’m not okay, but that’s alright“.

We talk about the events that lead up to this moment and how Tim has adapted his life as a result. So this is a trigger warning that we will be touching upon the subjects of panic attacks.

It’s a wonderfully honest episode and you’ll get a real insight into what Tim went through. Perhaps this episode will be useful for someone that you know, and if that’s the case, please feel free to share it with them.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we hear from Leo Mindel.

Leo has been working with technology and the internet since the early days, long before WordPress existed. During that time he’s experimented with multiple content management systems, some of them still exist, but many fell by the wayside.

Leo’s area of expertise is working with sports brands and governing bodies. Creating web solutions for them, solutions that work at scale and are always available. He works with some of the biggest names in the business and his current company Sotic work with some household names.

The journey, as you will hear, has not always been smooth, there have been many problems along the way. Trouble with the press, changing CMSs and personal bereavement. It’s a really interesting chat, touching on many topics.

We do touch on the topic of bereavement, and so this is a trigger warning should you choose to listen to the episode.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we hear from Vito Peleg… and it’s a fascinating story. He’s an agency owner and the founder of WP Feedback, a plugin for working with your WordPress website clients.

We talk about his highly unusual start in website building – from the back of a van whilst touring with his band. How he had to work when he could and how he juggled two completely different work personas at the same time.

We also talk about his decision to move to website work full time and his desire to grow and agency. How he managed to get this up to twelve people… the issues that arose on the way and how he coped with them and where he looked for support.

He’s a very energetic character and so towards the end we get into the topic of how he manages to keep this energy going when times are hard.

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today I talk with two people. Maja Benke and Amir Helzer. They are both interviews which were recorded in the corridors of WordCamp Europe, so apologies for the background noise.

The reason for two guests is because time was short when we recorded.

First up is Maja Benke. She’s been using WordPress for a long time and has really embraced the WordPress community. We talk about her involvement with that community and how she’s made a place for herself in it.

Next, we’ve got Amir Helzer. He’s the founder of OnTheGoSystems, the company behind the successful translation plugin WPML as well as Toolset, a plugin to help you get more from WordPress with less code writing.

We talk about his company and how they manage a team of 90 + employees; what techniques they use to keep the team updated and productive.

We also talk about how the company recently updated their pricing to a subscription service and how that’s gone.

Finally we touch upon how the Gutenberg editor has become a focus for their plugins, how they are refactoring the plugin architecture to fit into the new editing experience, and hopefully offer their users a future proof solution…

Useful links:

#DoSummitGood schedule

#DoSummitGood registration page

Toolset

WPML

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we hear from Barbara Saul. She’s been working with WordPress for quite a while, and recently has thrown herself into the wider WordPress community.

We talk about how she started to use WordPress to build her client websites, and how this kindled a desire in her to meet other people doing the same work as her. She was a little nervous about her level of knowledge, but after her first WordPress event she came to understand that the community was very welcoming.

Fast forward just a little while, and Barbara has become a linchpin of WordCamp London. She explains about what it takes to put on one of the largest WordCamps, how much organisation is required, and how people can get involved themselves, should they wish to.

Towards the end of the podcast we talk about her involvement with WP and UP. She’s writing content about the WP and UP mission… helpful content which I would urge you to consume. She’s deeply passionate about the work that WP and UP is doing, but is also realistic about the need to raise money to keep it going.

Useful links:

https://make.wordpress.org/community/

https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ and join the ‘#community-events’ channel

Interviewed by Nathan Wrigley.

We hope you enjoy the show, please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. We’re always looking for feedback, if you have any thoughts or comments, please do reach out.

And remember… Together we can #PressForward

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.